Editor’s note: Grant Hall is the author of Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living and advocates the use of privacy principles and concepts for business and personal privacy rather than identity theft insurance products.
Thinking about buying an insurance-type product to prevent identity theft, the fastest growing crime in the U.S.A.?
Companies that sell identity theft insurance products promise to handle all the hard stuff related to protecting your privacy so that you won’t be scammed out of your money or become liable for debt payments on money you never borrowed as well as other identity theft related costs.
The problem with these companies is that they’re too big, too impersonal, and have attempted to offer “cookie cutter” solutions to what amounts to specific, individual and business matters that require a customized approach in the opinion of this writer.
Identity theft insurance-type companies like to tout fraud alert services. The customers are notified whenever there is suspicious activity that might create a risk of identity theft. The only trouble is that such a practice is illegal. “Lifelock has been breaking California law for years by placing fraud alerts on its customers’ credit profiles”.
"Lifelock was handed a setback in its defnsee of a lawsuit filed by credit bureau Experian when a U.S. district judge ruled the Tempe company acted illegally in placing fraud alerts on its customers reports".
Successful privacy living and the prevention of identity theft is a complicated issue that is best handled by the individual or business manager on a needs basis. Through the use of privacy principles, concepts and tactics, you and your business can establish a bulletproof privacy protection plan that will enable you to be invisible and free from any privacy invasion- including a personal or business identity theft.
References
1. Zetter, Kim, Judge Rules Lifelock’s Fraud Alert Service Illegal, May 27, 2009, www.Wired.com
2. Casacchia, Chris and O’Grady, Patrick, Experian gets early judgment against Lifelock Phoenix Business Journal, May 29, 2009
3. Hall, Grant, Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living, 2006, James Clark King, LLC, www.PrivacyCrisis.com
4. Wells, Jane, Lifelock Lawsuits Putting it on Life Support, Funny Business: with Jane Wells, May 28, 2009, www.CNBC.com
Copyright: James Clark King, LLC, September 8, 2009